Returning to the Ho, Qin Ziwen summoned everyone to discuss how to hunt the Giant Rock Dragon under the constraints of limited personnel and only using Ho-recruited mbers.
Upon learning that the Giant Rock Dragon possessed exaggerated defensive capabilities, rendering ordinary cold weapons useless against it,
everyone brainstord wildly, each offering their own suggestions.
Li Tieshan said, "Master, these past two days I've been contemplating a type of giant crossbow. If we double the size of the crossbow on the vehicle-mounted crossbow and use giant bolts, its power might increase exponentially."
"How long would a finished product take?"
"Five days."
"That's too long. Let's stick with the previous vehicle-mounted crossbows."
Jia Liangcai stroked his beard and pondered, "If a direct assault won't work, perhaps we can use cunning. Fire attacks, poisoning—these are certainly worth a try."
"It has a mud armor. Ordinary fire attacks will have little effect."
"The mud armor can block fire, but it might not block heat." As Li Tieshan spoke, he led everyone to the Bladed Weapons Workshop.
He found a frozen Mononykus, coated its body surface with a layer of mud slurry, and placed it into the furnace.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the mud ball was pulled out with tongs. Its outer shell had already dried, cracked, and turned white.
Li Tieshan grabbed a hamr and smashed it.
A scalding water vapor, carrying the aroma of at and an earthy sll, "puffed" out from the hole.
Opening the shell further, beneath the mud crust, the Mononykus's skin was moist and glossy, already half-cooked from being stead.
Qin Ziwen pondered, "If we burn it for a full ten minutes, would the Giant Rock Dragon just sit there and wait for death? The mud shell on its body surface would buy it ti. And what if it changes the terrain and retreats into the underground karst caves again?"
"Then we smash its mud shell," Jia Liangcai said. "Continuous fire from the vehicle-mounted crossbows can even collapse thinner city walls. Its turtle shell can't be harder than a city wall, can it?"
Subsequently, everyone began discussing the specific details.
Finally, after more than ten minutes, they finished discussing the details and prepared to act.
Qin Ziwen called out to Li Tieshan.
"Tieshan, co here."
"If I were to prepare a sky-based throwing spear for the Crowned Eagle, could you forge it?"
"Sky... chicken-head spear?" Li Tieshan was confused.
"No, no, no, you misunderstood." Qin Ziwen explained the concept to him.
After listening to the Master's explanation, Li Tieshan understood what this thing was.
"Master, we can give it a try."
On the other side, everyone within the Ho put down their tasks and began to mobilize.
They transported supplies and prepared tools.
Batch after batch of related equipnt, tools, and materials were delivered to the southern Great Rift Valley.
The rock cave used by the Giant Rock Dragon for entry and exit was partially blocked by it. So mud walls were plastered on the surface; touching them with a hand, one could still feel the dampness. This area had clearly been deliberately reinforced by it.
This might be a survival strategy of the Giant Rock Dragon. They alter the surrounding terrain, creating the illusion of walls to conceal their living environnt.
In the arid, dusty environnt of the Gobi, over ti, the mud walls harden and blend with the surroundings.
With the help of two-plank carts, surrounding stones were piled up on the cliff tops on both sides of the rift valley.
Simultaneously, bundles of dry grass and branches were scattered on the cave floor. Above, the remaining, limited gasoline was transported here in large quantities.
At the bottom of the rift valley, the piled-up supplies grew larger and larger.
At the sa ti, on the passageways on both sides of the rift valley, two crossbow carriages were placed on each side, totaling four vehicle-mounted crossbows.
The tips of the crossbow bolts were specially made. The arrowheads were thicker, sacrificing range and accuracy to enhance close-range killing power.
anwhile, Jia Liangcai personally led a team, directing personnel to set up rockfall traps on-site, ready to drop and pile stones to block its path once the Giant Rock Dragon erged.
At the edge of the hillside, Qin Ziwen and the surrounding people worked together to push a giant boulder to a designated position. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
From behind, Li Tieshan arrived with the item.
"Master, it's finished!"
Looking at the nearly two-ter-long conical spear in Li Tieshan's hands, Qin Ziwen took it with both hands. His palms sank, and he almost failed to hold it.
This thing probably weighed close to two hundred jin.
The spear was about two ters long, its entire body forged from refined iron.
The spear shaft was straight. The most eye-catching part was its spearhead.
It wasn't the usual flat, thin willow-leaf or diamond shape, but an almost solid triangular armor-piercing cone, top-heavy and as thick as an arm.
Three deep blood grooves extended from the edges of the ridges all the way to the spear neck.
The spear tail featured hollowed-out fins. The hollowing was to allow the Crowned Eagle's claws to hook onto it,
while also ensuring the throwing spear maintained a spearhead-down orientation when falling from high altitude.
On the spear shaft, there were spiral patterns to ensure stability during rotation as much as possible and to increase wound bleeding.
"A fine thing. Let's call it the God's Rod," Qin Ziwen praised.
"Crowned Eagle." He waved to the sky.
The Crowned Eagle, which had been clutching a wooden throwing spear in its claws while continuously practicing projection techniques, quickly descended. These past few days, it had been practicing with wooden spears, simultaneously manipulating airflow to ensure the throwing spear's accuracy as much as possible.
"Try it. See if you can lift it."
The Crowned Eagle understood. Its sharp claws precisely hooked onto the hollowed grip ring on the spear's tail fins. Its wings gave a powerful flap, and it shot into the sky carrying the heavy throwing spear.
After flying to a height of one hundred ters, it maintained this weight, paused for a mont, then descended while carrying it.
Watching it descend, Qin Ziwen felt terrified, fearing it might lose its grip. He quickly moved farther away. If it lost its grip even once, if this thing fell, having two lives wouldn't be enough to survive.
Fortunately, it landed safely. After breaking through to Superhuman, the Crowned Eagle's strength had increased dramatically.
"Kraa!"
It called out twice, indicating it was fine.
One day later, all arrangents were complete.
The refugees temporarily hired from the Porridge Shed were dismissed. Only recruited mbers of the Ho like Li Tieshan, Shi Hu, Zhang ng, and Dazhuang remained on site.
"Master, I'm going." After saying this, Du Yu grabbed a rope and rappelled down the cliff face of the rift valley to the bottom.
He took out a pickaxe from behind his waist and struck at the entrance.
Soon, a gap was knocked into the thin wall.
Du Yu grabbed the rope and quickly ascended.
Inside the gap, it was very quiet, not a single movent.
"Has it left?" Qin Ziwen's heart sank. Could it be that after the last ti, the Giant Rock Dragon had left the underground caves and moved to another place?
Then their preparations these past two days would have been wasted for nothing.
The lingering sunset on the horizon was gradually fading. The visibility on the Gobi Desert plain grew lower and lower.
"Use smoke to fumigate it. Test if it's still there." Qin Ziwen had soone bring wet wood. After lighting it, they stuffed it into the cave entrance.
Billowing thick smoke erged from the cracks.
A mont later, the mud wall at the cave entrance collapsed inward without warning. Accompanied by a deep, muffled roar full of anger,
"Moo—"
That massive head, clad in heavy rock armor, slowly erged from the darkness.
"It's here!"
The eyes of the ambushing group lit up. Everyone held their breath,
watching as this giant beast fully extended its body.
Just as its entire body was about to erge completely, suddenly, its movent stopped. It looked around at the dense dry grass and the stacked piles of deadwood.
"Moo—"
Two plus of white mist shot from its nostrils, and it prepared to shrink back into the cave.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow, spanning several thousand ters from the top of the rift valley, landed precisely on its nostril.
The crossbow bolt sank in half an inch, its fletching trembling violently.
The damage wasn't high, but the insult was extre.
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